In light of Brett's comment that Trump's policies have a "communist" quality to them despite his using in a McCarthy-like fashion the label "Marxist" as one of his favorite epithets, as someone who has spent their career working on Russian/Soviet matters, I though I would share with you a related LinkedIn Post I made which was inspired i…
In light of Brett's comment that Trump's policies have a "communist" quality to them despite his using in a McCarthy-like fashion the label "Marxist" as one of his favorite epithets, as someone who has spent their career working on Russian/Soviet matters, I though I would share with you a related LinkedIn Post I made which was inspired into part by the Meidas Touch Network's reporting about Trump and Walmart:
Trump, Soviet Envy, and Consumer Prices by Ethan S. Burger
Donald Trump has aggressively cultivated a “cult of personality.” He built a political brand that dominates the conversation through staged cabinet meetings and constant media presence. Trump is laser-focused on enriching himself and his supporters. This requires consolidating power and narrative control—showing the truth of Orwell's observation that, 'He who controls the past controls the present; he who controls the present controls the future.ted '
Yet, Trump cannot control prices, data will overcome his spin.
Needless to say, Trump is not a true champion of free-market capitalism, since he corruptly supports favored elites—like Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen, who have outsized influence. He is a "State Capitalist" in which he owns the largest stake.
Case in point, his public threat to Walmart over pricing, telling the company to “eat the tariffs” and warning he’d be “watching.” Walmart, where ironically many in his base shops, was targeted not for economic reasons but for narrative defiance. https://lnkd.in/eQVp3EGz
Nor was Walmart unique. He also leaned on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos not to reveal how much price hikes were driven by Trump’s tariffs. Amazon can absorb those costs temporarily because of its massive scale and resources. But most businesses are price takers, not price makers. They can’t absorb such costs without cutting quality, investment, or jobs. Nixon’s failed price controls in the 1970s demonstrated that government-imposed distortions don’t last, and when market forces return, the consequences are worse.
Trump’s top-down economics echo outdated command-economy thinking. His order for drug sales at 'most-favored-nation' prices is illustrative. The pharmaceutical industry and even Republicans pushed back.
A key aspect of Trump’s weltanschauung is his aestheticization of power. Like the Soviet preference for imposing architectural scale and theatrical state rituals, he favors gold towers, parades, and lavish rallies. These spectacles are not merely promotional; they are performative assertions of dominance.
This admiration goes beyond appearances. He praises autocrats who rule by intimidation and ignore rights. His transactional view of foreign policy—eschewing alliances unless they prove profitable—mirrors the realpolitik of authoritarian regimes. He demands personal loyalty demands and has contempt for checks on power.
Trump’s governance model mimics elite authoritarian deal-making, lacking public accountability. In such systems, citizens are not stakeholders—they are spectators.
Trump’s economic ideology defies traditional capitalism. Though wrapped in populist slogans, it is a loyalty-based system consistent with state control than market competition—where obedience is rewarded, dissent punished, opponents and judges called "Marxists, "Communists" "Left-wing radical crazies," journalists labeled "enemies of the people," immigrants made scapegoats, and spectacle substitutes for policy.
In light of Brett's comment that Trump's policies have a "communist" quality to them despite his using in a McCarthy-like fashion the label "Marxist" as one of his favorite epithets, as someone who has spent their career working on Russian/Soviet matters, I though I would share with you a related LinkedIn Post I made which was inspired into part by the Meidas Touch Network's reporting about Trump and Walmart:
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Trump, Soviet Envy, and Consumer Prices by Ethan S. Burger
Donald Trump has aggressively cultivated a “cult of personality.” He built a political brand that dominates the conversation through staged cabinet meetings and constant media presence. Trump is laser-focused on enriching himself and his supporters. This requires consolidating power and narrative control—showing the truth of Orwell's observation that, 'He who controls the past controls the present; he who controls the present controls the future.ted '
Yet, Trump cannot control prices, data will overcome his spin.
Needless to say, Trump is not a true champion of free-market capitalism, since he corruptly supports favored elites—like Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen, who have outsized influence. He is a "State Capitalist" in which he owns the largest stake.
Case in point, his public threat to Walmart over pricing, telling the company to “eat the tariffs” and warning he’d be “watching.” Walmart, where ironically many in his base shops, was targeted not for economic reasons but for narrative defiance. https://lnkd.in/eQVp3EGz
Nor was Walmart unique. He also leaned on Amazon’s Jeff Bezos not to reveal how much price hikes were driven by Trump’s tariffs. Amazon can absorb those costs temporarily because of its massive scale and resources. But most businesses are price takers, not price makers. They can’t absorb such costs without cutting quality, investment, or jobs. Nixon’s failed price controls in the 1970s demonstrated that government-imposed distortions don’t last, and when market forces return, the consequences are worse.
Trump’s top-down economics echo outdated command-economy thinking. His order for drug sales at 'most-favored-nation' prices is illustrative. The pharmaceutical industry and even Republicans pushed back.
A key aspect of Trump’s weltanschauung is his aestheticization of power. Like the Soviet preference for imposing architectural scale and theatrical state rituals, he favors gold towers, parades, and lavish rallies. These spectacles are not merely promotional; they are performative assertions of dominance.
This admiration goes beyond appearances. He praises autocrats who rule by intimidation and ignore rights. His transactional view of foreign policy—eschewing alliances unless they prove profitable—mirrors the realpolitik of authoritarian regimes. He demands personal loyalty demands and has contempt for checks on power.
Trump’s governance model mimics elite authoritarian deal-making, lacking public accountability. In such systems, citizens are not stakeholders—they are spectators.
Trump’s economic ideology defies traditional capitalism. Though wrapped in populist slogans, it is a loyalty-based system consistent with state control than market competition—where obedience is rewarded, dissent punished, opponents and judges called "Marxists, "Communists" "Left-wing radical crazies," journalists labeled "enemies of the people," immigrants made scapegoats, and spectacle substitutes for policy.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7329709908839264256-Cdz9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAAIk-kcBiLS7MpZJaw3RsPLH_WqLbLJBtWA